Warren Boyd

Warren Boyd has an unusual job. As an extreme interventionalist and addiction specialist, Boyd has helped thousands for the last 20 years get on a sober path. A recovering addict himself, Boyd’s time in prison and ultimate choice to get clean gave him a unique insight into the minds of addicts. His personal knowledge of their problems, unconventional means of intervention and 24 hour service led his humble counseling practice to a large network of private rehab centers, reportedly treating such public figures as Courtney Love, Mel Gibson, Whitney Houston and Robert Downey Jr. His extreme and remarkable methods have been covered by Oprah¸ FOX News, NY Daily News, and an A&E documentary on his very real, highly secretive world of extreme intervention and hands-on treatment. Boyd’s personal story became the inspiration and foundation of A&E's gritty drama “The Cleaner,” starring Benjamin Bratt. Boyd’s story is one of crime, redemption and ultimately success, as his rehab centers and television show help more and more people each day.

Raised in California, Warren Boyd’s early years were riddled with trouble and addiction. By age of 32, he had nine DUI convictions and spent five years in prison. Addicted to both alcohol and cocaine, Boyd had been in and out of 26 rehab programs with zero success. According to Boyd, “no one could talk any sense into me.” The turning point that would ultimately change him and eventually lead to his professional life today occurred in 1990; the birth of Boyd’s first child completely changed the way he saw the world. He realized the first time he held his infant daughter that he must achieve sobriety. With 15 more months to serve in prison, Boyd began attending 12-step meetings and started to get clean. During his most chaotic time of heavy drinking and drug use he realized he trusted no one. The only thing he could trust was something intangible...something he couldn't see. He called it God - it was easier to trust something invisible as it wasn't going to come banging on his door. Boyd’s spiritual awakening was triggered by the birth of his daughter and it led him to believe that whatever you choose, whatever you call it, you need some sort of contact - someone to talk to, someone to understand you. Once released from prison, Boyd vowed to devote his life to helping others break the cycle of addiction, even if it meant using non-traditional means. He has said “It doesn’t matter if you’re a celebrity, a law professor or a construction worker. Addiction is a struggle for everyone.” Boyd’s experience with his own addictions and new-found sobriety taught him that sometimes addiction intervention calls for extreme actions. His “do-whatever-it-takes” method has helped thousands, from celebrities to civilians, break the vicious cycle of addiction and stay clean.

For nearly two decades now, Boyd and his team-all former addicts- have rescued other addicts through physical intervention. He manages a handful of sober living facilities, safe houses, and a team of highly skilled private investigators who also act as compassionate counselors helping addicts build a sense of purpose and engage in adrenaline inducing activities to replace the high of drugs. His team faces grave danger to themselves, running the risk of being shot, beaten or attacked, but the importance of saving an addict far outweighs the risks involved. Boyd’s experiences and intimate knowledge of addiction has made him an expert in such areas as drug use prevention, physiological effects of drug and alcohol use, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, effects of drug use on family units, suicide prevention and channels of rehabilitation.

Hollywood has embraced Boyd and his unconventional methods. For 2 years, Boyd served as co-executive producer of A&E’s “The Cleaner”, a series that was based on Boyd’s real-life persona. His intention for “The Cleaner” and his other TV projects in development are to show people things that they don’t know to look for - or perhaps don't know about - to help them with their teenagers, mothers, fathers, colleagues, friends and close ones. His overall message is trust the process...the process of people trying to help other people. He notes “My hope is that we can reach a vast amount of people. Even if it’s a small enough message to get someone to start thinking about that there is some sort of an idea that there is hope. It’s okay to — the bottom line for me is it’s okay to get help and it’s also okay to help somebody.”